Interview: My name is David ...

Schwimmer, star of Neil LaButes new West End drama and a serious catch. So kindly stop calling me Ross. Stephen Armstrong meets a Friend in need

It is theoretically possible that the cast of Friends are among the most famous people in the world. The show has penetrated the subcontinents that western rock stars, Hollywood film stars and catwalk supermodels can only dream of denting. With constant repeats around the globe, it’s extremely unlikely that you would find a place where you could spend 48 hours without stumbling across the show.

As a result, when David Schwimmer walks into the res-taurant of a hotel in London’s Soho, everyone checks him out. The hip young film-makers do so with studied cool.

Others stare outright, amazed to see him sipping white wine at the next table. “Ross is in the restaurant,” someone whispers audibly to their companion. “He’s over there. It’s Ross.”

It is, perhaps, a little unfair that Schwimmer is known only as Ross. Of all the cast, his post-Friends career has shown the cleanest pair of